Aces determined to secure second title in a row despite injuries to two starters

Frank Franklin II / AP

Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon talks to Chelsea Gray (12) and Jackie Young (0) during the first half in Game 3 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series against the New York Liberty, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, in New York.

By Danny Webster (contact)

Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023 | 2 a.m.

NEW YORK — The Las Vegas Aces are about to play one of the biggest games in franchise history without their starting point guard and center. Fear not, for coach Becky Hammon has a plan.

“I’m toying around with starting Syd at the backpack position,” the Aces coach said of backup guard Sydney Colson. “She’s going to jump on Jonquel (Jones’) back and see if Jonquel can take her up and put her in the basket.”

Colson, the light-hearted jokester on the Aces, heard the message loud and clear and jumped on a security guard’s back at Barclays Center to prove it can be done.

The Aces are trying to keep spirits up with Game 4 of the WNBA Finals against the New York Liberty at 5 p.m. today Las Vegas time, when they’ll attempt to win a second consecutive championship without Chelsea Gray and Kiah Stokes in the lineup because of foot injuries.

Gray, the five-time All-Star and last year’s Finals MVP, did not play the final five minutes of the Aces’ 87-73 loss in Game 3 and was seen on crutches after the game. She arrived to practice Tuesday with a boot on her left foot.

Stokes, the 6-foot-3 center and complement to Defensive Player of the Year A’ja Wilson, said she woke up with pain in her right foot.

That’s 40% of the Aces’ starting lineup missing in a championship-clinching game.

Hammon said Colson, the 34-year-old veteran, would start in Gray’s place. As for Stokes, the likelihood is Cayla George will start and split minutes with Alaina Coates at center.

“Everybody’s going to get a crack,” Hammon said. “We do have pure professionals on the bench. They’ve been on the gameplan from the start. They’ll be locked in and ready to go, and impact the game in a positive way.”

Candace Parker, the two-time MVP who hasn’t played since undergoing foot surgery in July, has practiced with the team but has yet to be cleared for game action. Late Tuesday, Parker was officially ruled out for today’s game.

Tuesday’s media availability was a lighthearted scene from a team that’s about to be down two starters, but it’s still an enviable position the Aces find themselves in. Even if they lose tonight, they return home for a winner-take-all Game 5 on Friday at Michelob Ultra Arena.

The Aces would love to avoid that at all costs, no matter how raucous the environment would be back home. But the Aces, having played most of the season without point guard Riquna Williams (team suspension) and Parker for the past three months, feel that adversity is reason enough to believe they can find a way to win one more game.

As the point guard, Gray is the extension of Hammon calling plays. With those roles going to Colson, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young, it will be different for Gray to direct an offense from the bench, but she can still find ways to do it.

“I think our offense is built to be fluid and be put in different positions, so I think that is what helps us,” Gray said Tuesday. “If we’re in a different position where everything else is called, that’s different. But I think there’s going to be a lot of movement, a lot of fluidity throughout our game on the offensive end.”

The same goes for Stokes and her defensive assignments. She’s averaged nearly eight rebounds in 26 minutes per game during the playoffs. Stokes doesn’t provide much of an offensive repertoire but has been the primary defender on Jones — who has averaged 21 points and nine rebounds in the finals.

“Really just staying focused, making sure they’re locked into the schemes, the try-hard factor and just be confident,” Stokes said on the messaging to whomever plays in her spot. “They’re on this team for a reason.”

Gray said she would get an MRI when the Aces return to Las Vegas on Thursday to determine the severity of her injury. Stokes said her injury looks worse than it is.

All options appear to be on the table for the Aces, who are trying to become the first team since the 2001-02 Los Angeles Sparks to win back-to-back championships.

Colson averaged just under five minutes a game during the regular season but was relied upon down the stretch for her defense and 3-point shooting. She shot 36% from 3-point range and averaged nearly a steal per game in the final six regular-season games.

“I’ll do the same thing. Whether I’m playing or not, I’m a professional,” Colson said. “My preparation doesn’t change, whether I’m about to play a lot of minutes or if I play none. Chelsea being out, Kiah being out, it’s kind of the same as if people were getting in foul trouble.”

As limited as the Aces’ bench has been all season — most games see the Aces use a seven-player rotation, at best — Las Vegas will have to use the bench more in the biggest game of their season.

With a championship on the line, it’s moments like this the bench players live for.

“A lot of people think they’re just there for the laughs and the vibes, but at the end of the day, we’re talking about professional basketball players that are good at what they do,” Wilson said. “They’re going to be put in a situation that is probably uncomfortable, but it’s their time to shine.”

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